Cloud Telephony turns out to be an effective tool for NGOs

NGOs and other institutions working for the welfare of society are run just as professionally as any corporate giant. And these increased levels of professionalism extend to seeking out and implementing communications tools that can help the NGO carry out its mission better.

Anyone acquainted with modern-day NGOs won’t be surprised by the above statement. In fact, NGOs’ need for higher efficiency and their reliance on community partnerships makes them even more dependent upon comprehensive communications solutions. A few of the factors contributing to this trend include:



1.      NGOs seek to direct as much of their spending as possible towards their core mission – helping society

2.      NGOs often depend upon community partnerships and patrons for financial support

3.      Depending upon their type of work, an NGO might want to be instantly accessible by people who may need help

These factors often make NGOs just as choosy about communications solutions as any corporate giant. However, NGOs also do not usually have the deep pockets of a corporate group, and for this reason, value efficiency and affordability immensely. Luckily, the advent of E-mail, social networking and cloud-based telephony solutions have aided NGOs tremendously in reducing expenditure, while at the same time, maintaining accessibility and connectivity.

Why the BN Satnalika Foundation turned to Cloud Telephony
One NGO doing stellar work in the field of education and supporting underprivileged children is the Babulal Nagarmal Satnalika Foundation. Its activities encompass efforts towards making education accessible, and helping weaker sections of society stand up on their feet to maximize their human potential. Like other NGOs, the BN Satnalika foundation too sought out a reliable communications solution that made its officials instantly reachable by donors, volunteers and partners.
With phone and voice messaging still being the most ‘personal’, immediate and effective form of contact, the BN Satnalika foundation decided to turn to cloud telephony pioneers Knowlarity for help. According to foundation Managing Director Niraj Satnalika, “We wanted to make sure that no money was wasted on expensive or unaffordable solutions. As an NGO, our focus is on the people we help, and for this reason, we sought a phone call management tool that was affordable.” However, another aspect the NGO was focused upon was performance. “Being in touch with our volunteers, employees, donors and partners is a very critical part of our work. This also made it important that any solution we choose be highly reliable and easy-to-manage.”  

SuperReceptionist helps NGOs stay connected
By turning to a cloud-based telephony solution like SuperReceptionist, the BN Satnalika Foundation was able to solve its communications issues completely:
1.      Lower cost of cloud telephony: By doing away with the need for expensive, dedicated phone lines or telephony equipment, cloud telephony solutions like SuperReceptionist help NGOs and other organizations reduce expenditure. The money saved here can then be used towards your core mission – in this case, helping bright young children gain access to education.

2.      Never miss a call: For a business, a missed call can be a missed lead or a lost sale. It’s an equally serious matter for an NGO – you could miss a call from a volunteer who’d like to increase his or her commitment, a lead about someone in need of your support, and even a prospective donor or mission partner. Missing these calls can not only reduce your effectiveness but also hamper your functioning in the long run. In the case of NGOs, donations and community partnerships are vital lifelines. And ensuring that your officials are always reachable by prospective donors can mean the difference between success and failure. SuperReceptionist gave the BN Satnalika Foundation a unified phone number, ensured calls were routed to the correct person, reduced waiting times for callers, and most importantly, with 24x7 availability, industry-leading reliability and features like caller ID, ensured no calls were lost.

3.      Easy to use and manage: Too many technology-based solutions overlook the importance of being easy to use and manage. This becomes even more important when the client is a small organization. Cloud-based telephony solutions, in general, reduce the management effort as the organization no longer requires dedicated staff to run expensive and hard-to-maintain equipment. Turning to SuperReceptionist also made life easier for the BN Satnalika Foundation thanks to its in-built administration and management dashboard that not only allowed easy configuration, but also made it simple for NGO officials to keep track of all calls.

Overall, it’s easy to see why it’s not just corporate giants and big businesses that are benefited by the rise of cloud telephony solutions like SuperReceptionist. In fact, these solutions can make the biggest difference to small and medium sized businesses – and other organizations like NGOs – thanks to the higher efficiencies and ease of implementation. And what does the NGO have to say about using cloud telephony. Well, according to BN Satnalika Foundation Vice Chairman Deepa Satnalika, “By using SuperReceptionist, we’ve managed to stay easily accessible to our partners and donors. At the same time, the ease of use makes it possible for us to devote all our energies towards our mission!”. 

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